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Research paper example essay prompt: How Did Life Really Begin - 1848 words

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How Did Life Really Begin? HOW DID LIFE REALLY
BEGIN? INTRODUCTION Evolution. Is it a fact or
fiction? I thought that Evolution, was just a
theory, but I was wrong. I believe that Darwin's
theory has had a great impact on the world today.
It has caused many debates between religious
authorities and those from the scientific
community. This theory had prompted individuals to
think about the Origin of the Universe, Earth, and
how did life really begin. However, what
distinguishes Charles Darwin from the others is
the fact that he collected and provided
substantial evidences and he related various
branches of science such as geology, botany and
biology, which helped, validate his theories.

His
theory of natural selection as stated by Nelson
and Jurmain (1991, p.606) in the modern form is
that the evolutionary factor causes changes in
allele frequencies in populations due to
differential net reproductive success of
individuals. His grasp of the evolutionary process
and the clarity of his work makes Charles Darwin
the most popular figure in the scientific field of
Evolution (Francoeur, 1965, p.34). The grandfather
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was a well renowned
doctor, poet and philosopher who wrote many books
concerning nature. He said that all different
living things were produced over millions of years
by one original ancient parent, such that each
offspring had a natural tendency to improve itself
(Karp, 1968, p.14). However, fossil records show
that this theory of one original parent was not
probable (Karp, 1968, p.14).

His opposition toward
any form of organized religion and his rejection
of Christianity was considered to be superficial
and eccentric (Chancellor, 1973, p.21). His
tendency to theorize and create wild speculations
without testing his theories caused his reputation
as a scientist to suffer. Around the end of the
eighteenth century all discussions of evolution
were suppressed because of the rigid creationist
views held by the Church who persecuted anyone who
challenged their beliefs (Chancellor, 1973, p.41).
It was not until the publication of Charles
Darwin's The Origin of Species that the discussion
of evolution was revived. When non-biologists talk
about biological evolution they often confuse two
different aspects of the definition. On the one
hand there is the question of whether or not
modern organisms have evolved from older ancestral
organisms or whether modern species are continuing
to change over time.

On the other hand there are
questions about the mechanism of the observed
changes.. how did evolution occur? Biologists
consider the existence of biological evolution to
be a fact. It can be demonstrated today and the
historical evidence for its occurrence in the past
is overwhelming. However, biologists readily admit
that they are less certain of the exact mechanism
of evolution; there are several theories of the
mechanism of evolution. EVOLUTION AND FOSSIL
RECORD In the study of human evolution, two main
methods of dating are used: Carbon-14 and
potassium-argon dating.

Carbon-14 dating involves
the decay of radioactive C-14, which has a
half-life of 5770 years. This makes this method
useful for dating of recent fossils, with good
accuracy, up to 50,000 years back. After 5770
years, half of the carbon-14 in a fossil decays to
nitrogen-14. Since the ratio of carbon-12 to
carbon-14 in a living organism remains the same as
in the environment around them because the
organism constantly eats and replenishes it, if it
were to die, the ratio would change greatly after
many years. It is the difference between this
ratio now and the time is died that allows a date
for it to be established.

Potassium-argon dating,
another dating method, is possible due to volcanic
ash and rocks found near many fossil sites. Rocks
and ash created in this manner contain
potassium-40, but no argon. As time passes, the
potassium-40 decays into argon-40. In the
laboratory, the sample is reheated, and since
argon-40 is a gas, it is released. The ratio of
argon-40 released to potassium-40 still present
allows for a date to be assigned to objects near
the sample.

However, due to potassium's high
half-life (1.3 billion years), it is only useful
as a dating technique for finds older than 500,000
years old. Also, it is only useful where volcanic
activity existed. Both these methods have error
margins, ranging from a few thousand years in
carbon-14 dating to tens of thousands of years, or
more, for potassium-argon dating. However, thanks
to scientific breakthroughs, these two processes
can be used with reasonable security in
establishing a time for fossils. Our farthest
believed ancestor is believed to be
Australopithecus afarensis.

This species, which
lived between three and four million years ago, is
believed to be the first real hominid because it
is the oldest, and most primitive of any definite
hominid form thus far found.(Turnbaugh, 281)
Evidence from fossilized footprints, as well as
pelvic and leg bones which were similar to modern
hominids, led scientists to believe that they
could walk upright. Its teeth resembled more those
of primates, due to their large size. Its skull
capacity ranged from 350 to 500 cm3. This species,
though it had some hominid characteristics, was
still more like an ape. Its face protruded
outwards near the mouth region, and it did not
have a definable chin.

Finally, their craniums had
large, protruding ridges over the eyes. Another
important being in the human timeline is
Australopithecus africanus. Many scientists
believe that it is the next in the sequence
leading to man, however, a few believe that it
belongs to a lineage on its own. Africanus fossils
have been dated back to the time period between
two and three million years ago. It had a greater
body size than Afarensis, and a skull volume
ranging between 420 and 500 cm3.

It averaged a
little higher in height than the 3 to 5 feet
believed for Afarensis. Its jaws also protruded
out. The keel effect is very distinguishable on
this species, as it is with many of the older
hominid species a slight peak on the top of the
cranium. Ridges over the eyes were also prominent
on this hominid. The next species believed to be
in our line of descent is Homo habilis.

This is
the first being with the distinction of having
Homo as its genus. This species, which is dated
back to between 1.5 and 2.4 million years ago, had
a face, which protruded less than Africanus and
Afarensis. Its teeth, though still larger than
modern humans, were smaller than those of its
ancestors. Finally, its fossil fragments displayed
an average increase in cranial size of 21 percent
and 43 percent, respectively, over [Africanus and
Afarensis],(Turnbaugh, 288) with an average
cranial capacity of 650 cm3. Skulls found of this
hominid also feature a bulge of Broca's area, an
area essential for human speech.

It was also
taller than the previous hominids, averaging
around 5 feet high. At about the same time as Homo
habilis and some of the other Homo species, other
hominid species belonging to the Australopithecus
genus, are believed to have co-existed. Though
similar to the Homo line in structure, their bones
were thicker and more robust. These other hominids
are believed to have developed on a different
lineage than the Homo line, and all of these
streams died out at around the time of Homo
erectus, the next key hominid on the human
lineage. Because they are believed to have evolved
apart from Homo hominids, it is not important to
cover these species in detail.

Homo erectus lived
between 300,000 and 1,800,000 years ago, and still
had protruding jaws and a keel effect on the top
of the cranium. It, like its predecessors, had no
definable chin, and thick brow ridges. However,
skull capacity in these hominids jumped from an
average of 650 cm3 in H. habilis to an average of
900 cm3 in early specimens and 1100 cm3 in later
specimens. The skeleton is more robust than those
of modern humans, implying greater
strength.(Foley, w.

page.) Due to their larger
brain sizes, they are believed to have possessed
greater intelligence, and evidence of this has
been found in their probably use of fire, as shown
by traces of burnt bones in cave floors, and the
finding of more sophisticated tools than H.
habilis. They were shorter, on average, than Homo
sapiens, and their craniums showed a Nuchal torus,
or a ridge, across the back of the head. This
species also had keeled craniums. Archaic Homo
sapiens, which first appeared 500,000 years ago,
are believed to be our most recent relatives. By
this time, the keel that existed on their skulls
is non-existent, and the supra-orbital torus (the
brow ridge) has begun to recede.

Cranial volume
has been measured at an average of 1200 cm3.
Fossil evidence shows a trend for their posterior
teeth to have reduced in size, and the anterior
teeth to have increased in size, from previous
Homo species, while late archaic Homo sapiens
finds show a general reduction in the size of both
areas. The face and jaw areas also showed a
reduction in size from previous species. It is at
this point that Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
enters the picture. Commonly known as Neanderthal
Man, this species is believed by most scientists
to have existed at the same time as late archaic
Homo sapiens and early Homo sapiens, our own
species. Many scientists theorize that either we
killed them off, or interbred with them to produce
modern humans.

Their craneal volume is in fact
higher than modern humans, at an average of 1450
cm3. Their bones were also thicker, which implies
greater bulk in body. They also had larger nose
cavities, a weak chin, and a protruding jaw area.
Neanderthals would have been extraordinarily
strong by modern standards, and their skeletons
show that they endured brutally hard lives.(Foley,
w. page) Neanderthal skeletons have been dated to
between 30,000 and 230,000 years ago. Finally, our
own species is encountered.

Scientists have dated
the earliest Homo sapiens fossils back 120,000
years. Our species showed an increase in skull
capacity up to an average of 1350 cm3. The
supra-orbital ridge is all but gone with modern
humans, and other features seen in earlier Homos,
such as the keel and the craneal ridges on the
back are also gone. The cranium is more rounded,
as opposed to the general pentagon shape seen in
earlier hominids. Teeth size for modern humans
shows a decrease in size from archaic Homo
sapiens.

Also, bone size shows a trend towards
reduced robustness, with thinner bones and smaller
jaws. From all the fossil evidence, a rough line
can be drawn for human evolution, starting from A.
afarensis and ending in H. sapiens. A clear
progression of features, especially in the cranial
region, can be seen. Features such as brain size
are seen to have developed and increased from our
earliest ancestors up until now, while other
non-essential features, like a furry skin, a
supra-orbital ridge, and large teeth, have
diminished.

This shows evolution of our species,
from a more primitive creature, to our modern
shape, which is highly adaptive, intelligent, and
suited to any environment. In any meaningful sense
evolution is a fact, but there are various
theories concerning the mechanism of evolution. Is
this how Life Really began? Did God created the
perfect creature, a creature that evolves to suit
its needs? Science.